Pruned Branches

John 15:1-4 (RSV): Pruned Branches

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Last year, we had overgrown trees in our back yard. One tree was estimated at about 80-90 years old, and it was mammoth. The tree overspread into my neighbor’s yard, too. This tree was especially a nuisance, for it constantly dropped dead branches in the slightest wind, much of the deadfall landing in my neighbor’s yard. Additionally, it harbored a growing colony of boxelder bugs, black and red insects that got into everything. We had to take action.

We hired a tree expert to guide us in our vision of a better back yard. We wanted to keep some shade and beauty, but the mess we currently had needed serious pruning. After deliberation, we decided to remove two trees, including the behemoth that overspread both properties. One tree, a healthy, medium-sized maple, stayed. We had it neatly pruned for better growth and shape.

In the end, our back yard was transformed. The remaining maple tree was pruned into a shape that now, in the height of the spring bloom, shows a beautiful, even spread of promising leaf buds. None of this, however, could have happened had we not taken action against the needless overgrowth in our yard.

Jesus teaches that God the Father does the same pruning to our spiritual overgrowth. When we abide in Jesus’ word, example, teaching, and love, we graft ourselves onto the life of Christ. But we do so in an imperfect way. For instance, we can go overboard or become lukewarm in our faith. Our spiritual lives, moreover, become uneven and lopsided, causing imbalance and ugliness. God prunes us to be better versions of our spiritual selves. He prunes us to bear the fruits of love more authentically.

As we accept the gift of this week, let’s consider the areas in our spiritual orchards that God has “nipped and tucked” and offer up a prayer of thanks.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for paring back our spiritual overgrowth and stimulating new life in our moments of spiritual anaemia. In this pruning, we know that our lives will bear the rich fruit of your love, a love to be shared with others. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan